


Plus One

by Amethystina



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Although we don't really get to that part unfortunately, Bartender Tony, Fake/Pretend Relationship, ImagineTonyandBucky Prompt Fill, M/M, Mentions of PTSD, War Veteran Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 06:22:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17198177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amethystina/pseuds/Amethystina
Summary: Sometimes, Bucky makes stupid and rash decisions. Telling his friends that he's got a secret fiancé they've never met, well — that's, without a doubt, one of the worst. Because, not only does he manage to convince them that it's true, but they insist that he should bring said fiancé to his little sister's wedding so they'll get to meet him.The problem being, of course, that Bucky doesn'thavea fiancé and the man he has so vividly described to his friends — down to the color of his eyes and brightness of his smile — is just the bartender at his favourite bar. Sure, Bucky is infatuated with the man, but their relationship is definitely not as intimate as he has made everyone believe.Long story short, Bucky has put himself in a deep mess and, somehow, needs to find a way out of it. And, as ludicrous as it might sound, he knows that his best bet is to simply ask said bartender if he'd be willing to be Bucky's pretend fiancé for a week. Maybe, if Bucky is lucky, Tony will agree to help him.





	Plus One

**Author's Note:**

> _**Prompt by[Dreamcatchersdaughter](http://dreamcatchersdaughter.tumblr.com/):** How bout a Fake Engagement AU? Bucky pretends Tony is his fiance to get Steve, Natasha & Sam off his back, about settling down. Only it backfires, because they demanded he bring Tony to the next family event, to meet his future husband. Only one tiny ity bitty problem, Tony isn't his boyfriend let alone his fiance, just Bucky's favorite bartender down at The Avenger. Bucky may also be like half in love with him. Totally unrelated. Now Bucky has ask Tony to be his finance for a week. No pressure._
> 
> This was a prompt fill I wrote for [ImagineTonyandBucky](http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/) over a year ago and, well, I always hoped that I would finish it. Alas, as I went through my WIP folder and realised I had to dump some of them, this was one of those that didn't make the cut. I absolutely love the concept and what I've written so far, but some things are just not meant to be, I'm afraid.
> 
> I hope you like it despite how short it is <3

 

Bucky took a deep breath and pushed open the door to his favorite bar, instinctively relaxing when the familiar smells and sounds washed over him. It was still early and The Avenger only had a few patrons, most of them regulars who Bucky knew by face or, in rare cases, by name.

Tony lit up when he caught sight of Bucky, his grin wide enough to cause an excited flutter in Bucky's chest, as always.

"What's this? Is it Christmas already?" Tony called from behind the bar, looking delighted as Bucky made his way toward him. "Two times in a week, Buckling? I am officially the luckiest guy in New York."

Atrocious as the nickname was, Bucky couldn't help smiling as he reached the bar and slid into his usual seat.

The first time Bucky had shuffled into The Avenger, he'd done so out of sheer necessity. He'd been cold and shivering, miserable after having spent hours outside in the rain, walking aimlessly in an attempt to chase away the darkness that tended to creep up on him when he sat alone in his shitty apartment for too long. The soft, warm lights of the bar had called to him, promising a sanctuary Bucky had so desperately needed.

Once inside, he'd been met with dark wood, soft music, and a subtle murmur of voices, so different from the loud bars and clubs he and his friends usually visited. There had been enough dark corners that Bucky could easily have disappeared if he so wished, the atmosphere one of polite indifference. He'd known right away that no one would bother him here — no one would care.

Bucky could still remember how the tension he'd been carrying — the one that had chased him out onto the streets in the first place — had bled out of him within seconds.

"And why are you so lucky?" Bucky asked, even if he knew exactly where this was going.

"Because you spoil me, Buckling," Tony replied, tone playful. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"I just can't resist, doll," Bucky said. He was still surprised by how easy it was to banter with Tony. Ever since Bucky returned from Afghanistan, most social interactions felt like pulling teeth and flirting had been entirely out of the question — until he met Tony. It was almost frighteningly easy to talk to Tony. "The thought of going one more day without seein' your pretty face nearly broke my heart."

Tony laughed, bright and carefree, and Bucky could barely breathe for how _beautiful_ Tony looked in that moment.

"I bet you say that to all the boys," Tony teased.

Bucky rested his forearms against the counter and gave Tony a wink. "You're the only one for me, sweetheart. You know that."

Tony braced his hands against the bar, wide apart, and leaned closer. Bucky could smell a whiff of Tony's aftershave and see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes.

"Good," Tony said, voice low enough to send a subtle shiver down Bucky's spine. The playfulness in Tony's gaze said that he was probably just joking, but Bucky soaked up the attention all the same. "Keep it that way."

Bucky placed a hand over his heart. "You have my word."

He was rewarded with another laugh and Bucky _knew_ he had to be grinning like a lovesick idiot. He was so in over his head with this one.

It was strange to think that Bucky had only given Tony a cursory glance the first time he visited the bar. Sure, Tony had been undeniably charming even back then, with his wide, inviting smile and sparkling eyes, but Bucky had been too preoccupied with his own misery to really care. He'd simply ordered a drink, found an empty booth, and proceeded to ignore everyone around him.

Bucky had sat in that booth for almost two hours, cold and wet, fingers loosely wrapped around the tumbler of whiskey and gaze staring blankly at the table in front of him. No one had bothered him or asked him if he was okay, and that had been fine by him.

He'd been able to breathe freely for the first time in months, which had been nothing short of a miracle.

It wasn't until he had gotten up to leave — a surprising but very welcome calm having settled over him sometime during those two hours — that he had happened to catch Tony's gaze across the room. Only then had Bucky noticed how the lighting inside the bar made everything glow a soft and warm gold — including Tony.

His eyes had looked like gently burning embers, bright, mesmerizing, and breathtakingly beautiful.

After that, Bucky felt he couldn't be blamed for returning to the bar a second time. And a third. And a fourth. He'd done so partly because The Avenger — with its soft music and low, murmuring voices — helped put his whirring mind at ease, but, mainly, it was thanks to Tony. Bucky wasn't sure why he found the place so soothing, but he wasn't going to complain, especially seeing how well it worked.

It wasn't until Bucky's fourth visit that he and Tony had started talking and — as Bucky became one of the regulars — it soon became a habit.

They had exchanged words before, sure, when Bucky had placed his orders, but this was different. It was actual conversations with gently asked questions and equally careful answers. Bucky wasn't sure what it meant — if anything at all — but he liked it. He liked talking to Tony. They became friends, of sorts, even if it wasn't an entirely conventional relationship, given that Tony was working every time they met.

The fact that Bucky's feelings for Tony weren't entirely platonic, well — Bucky kept that to himself.

"So, what can I do for you?" Tony asked, straightening a little, but not so much that he was actually out of Bucky's reach. It was a heady feeling to have Tony that close. "You want the usual?"

And, just like that, Bucky was reminded of his reason for showing up at the bar. He'd actually managed to forget his current predicament, if only for a little while.

He cleared his throat, feeling his stomach twist from nerves. "Uh, yeah. Sure," he croaked, almost wincing at how _not_ smooth that response had been.

Tony did pause for a second — his concern easy to spot in the sudden sharpness of his gaze — but he clearly knew Bucky well enough to see that this wasn't one of his bad nights. Not like Bucky's first couple of visits to The Avenger, when he'd barely been able breathe through the panic and PTSD.

"Coming right up, Buckling," Tony replied easily.

Bucky could tell that Tony was giving him time to gather his thoughts, but that he would eventually ask why Bucky seemed so nervous. That was one of Tony's best qualities — over the one and a half years they had known each other, he'd learned when to wait Bucky out and when to push for answers.

Surprisingly, Bucky did most of the talking in their relationship. He wasn't sure how that had happened; not even Steve managed to coax as many honest answers out of him as Tony did. Bucky wasn't the kind of person who liked to share — he kept his problems to himself — but, every single time that Tony tilted his head to the side and asked that one simple question, the words just came pouring out.

_"Want to talk about it?"_

Bucky _did_ want to talk about it. He'd had no idea how much he wanted to talk about things until he met Tony. It was in that dimly lit bar, fingers holding on to a glass of booze he rarely ever finished, that he spoke freely for the first time in his life. Bucky wasn't sure why — what Tony did to make Bucky trust him to that degree — but it was such a relief.

He told Tony about his anger over losing his arm, about the slow and agonizing recovery and the infernal prosthetic he was expected to wear, about his family, and about Steve, Sam, and Natasha. Bucky told Tony things he hadn't even told Steve, though those weren't many.

Occasionally, Tony shared anecdotes of his own. He told Bucky about his joy of tinkering, about the wild adventures he'd had with his best friend while at MIT, and about small tidbits from his everyday life that Bucky treasured with embarrassing enthusiasm. Every piece of information that he was able to gather about Tony was precious to him and only served to make Bucky like the man even more.

Bucky couldn't be blamed, he felt, for falling half in love with Tony. Who wouldn't? The man was charming and kind, and listened to a one-armed veteran without a hint of impatience.

It was easy to fall for someone like that.

The fact that Bucky had managed to convince Steve, Sam, and Nat that the feeling was mutual, well — that was perhaps a bit of a problem, on the other hand. He should never have told his friends that he had a fiancé. Why on _earth_ had he done that?

Well, he knew why — because Bucky hated how they nagged about him needing to find someone to settle down with. He was in no mood for dating and certainly not _marriage_ , but that was, apparently, not a sufficient answer.

So he lied. He told them that he did, in fact, have someone — they were engaged, even.

Steve had been delighted, so desperate for Bucky to find happiness, while Nat had been more skeptical. It was her questions that had pushed Bucky to reveal more about this secret fiancé of his and, in a moment of absolute panic, he'd ended up describing the bartender at his favorite bar. It would have been wiser to just conjure up an imaginary person, but no, that was apparently too easy. Bucky had to go and pick someone he was actually mooning over and then proceed to describe the man in such detail that his friends demanded to meet him.

Bucky had done a lot of idiotic things in his life, but this might very take the cake.

He was so _stupid_.

A tumbler was placed in front of him and Bucky took a deep breath before looking up at Tony. "Thanks."

Tony smiled and mirrored Bucky's position with his forearms braced against the bar between them. The light made Tony's hair glow a warm, dark gold, and he looked so effortlessly handsome that Bucky didn't know whether to look away or stare like a complete fool.

Bucky chose the latter, glancing down at his glass of whiskey when the warmth in Tony's gaze became too much.

After another couple of seconds, Tony spoke up. "Are you going to make me ask?"

"Well, I _do_ love the sound of your voice." Bucky was just trying to buy himself time, but he was very pleased that it earned him a laugh from Tony.

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

When their gazes met, Bucky couldn't help grinning; the smile on Tony's face made Bucky a little breathless. As nervous as he was about his purpose for visiting, seeing Tony never failed to make him happy.

Tony nudged Bucky's elbow with his own. "But don't think I didn't notice you trying to avoid the subject."

There was that wave of vague nausea again. Bucky stared down at his tumbler of whiskey, absently rubbing his thumb against the rim of the glass. It was probably better to just get it over with.

He cleared his throat and forced his voice to remain steady. "Can I... ask you a favor?"

"Sure. Shoot," Tony replied immediately — no hesitation or questions asked.

The trust Tony had in him was gratifying, but also served to make Bucky even more nervous. This was a pretty huge favor, after all, and he wasn't sure how Tony would react to it. Had it just been a matter of him coming along to Bucky's little sister's wedding then they might have been fine, but the fact that everyone there expected Bucky to bring his elusive fiancé, well — that made things difficult.

Bucky had actually refused when Steve, Nat, and Sam had tried to convince him that bringing Tony to the wedding would be a _lovely_ idea. There were limits to how many lies Bucky was willing to tell and he knew that he would be digging himself into a far too deep hole with that one. If he wasn't able to get Tony to come along, they'd know Bucky had been talking shit.

But then Becca had gotten involved, thanks to Nat's scheming, no doubt.

While Bucky might be able to say no to his friends — even Steve, though it was embarrassingly difficult sometimes — he wasn't quite prepared to deny his sister something she wanted for her wedding day. If only that thing hadn't been to meet Bucky's non-existent fiancé. Bucky couldn't even figure out if it would be worse to keep lying to her about said fiancé or just come clean and admit that he was just as pathetically single as he had been for the past two years.

Bucky only had himself to blame, he knew that, but that didn't exactly make him feel better.

Fuck his life.

After much deliberation, Bucky had decided it wouldn't hurt to _ask_. The conversation would be awkward, no doubt, but it probably wouldn't ruin his and Tony's friendship entirely. If phrased correctly, Tony might even take it as a compliment.

"It's, uh... a big one. A _huge_ one, actually." Bucky scratched his neck before looking at Tony, already feeling like an idiot. Tony just kept smiling, patiently waiting for Bucky to continue. Bucky cleared his throat — again — and managed to squeeze out the words: "Will you be my plus one for my little sister's wedding two months from now?"

Bucky desperately wanted to bang his head against the bar when he realized just how corny he'd made that sound. He behaved like a teenager asking his crush to the prom. Then again, that analogy wasn't entirely without merit, he supposed.

Tony blinked in surprise, looking quite stunned. Bucky couldn't blame him.

Bucky hurried to continue, not sure if he would have the courage to explain the whole situation otherwise. "I know it's a strange request since we, well... we don't see each other outside of this bar. And it gets even weirder, too."

"Oh?" Tony seemed to have gotten over the initial surprise, but his face remained carefully blank, as if he was waiting to show his reaction until Bucky had finished. Bucky had never seen Tony do that before. Tony was usually very expressive, always smiling and open in his body language. Seeing him so contained was unnerving.

"I might have lied a little to my friends and family." Bucky swallowed, but forced himself to meet Tony's gaze. This was definitely one of the most awkward conversations Bucky had ever had the misfortune of taking part in. "About, uh, my relationship status."

Within seconds, Tony's face broke into a wide grin.

" _Ah_. I think I know where this is going." The hesitation was gone, Tony's posture relaxing yet again. Bucky hadn't even noticed it had tensed in the first place.

"You do?" Bucky asked incredulously. Sure, he knew that Tony was frighteningly intelligent — it hadn't taken Bucky more than two conversations to figure that out — but this was a pretty bizarre situation.

"You lied and told them you were dating someone," Tony said, as if it was the most obvious and understandable thing in the world, "and now they want you to bring this date of yours to the wedding."

"Fiancé, actually," Bucky mumbled, not quite sure how to react. He'd expected to have to explain everything in detail, not have Tony figure it out after just a couple of stumbling sentences.

"Fiancé? I like the way you think, Buckling — aim high, and all that." Tony tilted his head to the side, his smile almost disturbingly excited. He was clearly enjoying this, but Bucky couldn't quite tell if it was at his expense or not. "And I'm the lucky guy who gets to play this fiancé of yours?"

To his horror, Bucky felt himself blush.

"Well, I—" He looked down at the bar and scratched his ear. "I guess? If you want to?"

"I would love to."

Bucky's gaze snapped up to look at Tony. "Really?"

That was easy — a lot easier than Bucky thought it would be.

"Yeah, sure." Tony shrugged, still smiling like the conversation made complete sense and wasn't weird in the slightest. Bucky found himself wondering if anything could bring Tony out of balance. "Who would pass up on a chance to see you all decked out in a nice suit?"

"A lot of people," Bucky blurted out, wincing when he realized just how pathetic that made him sound. It was the truth, though — one-armed veterans with PTSD weren't exactly in high demand.

"Their loss is my gain," Tony replied easily.

While Tony wasn't one to give pep talks, there was something incredibly reassuring in the way he firmly shot down Bucky's self-depreciating comments. Tony smiled and Bucky was so caught up in staring at him that he almost flinched when he felt a touch against his fingers. He glanced down to see Tony's hand gently settle over his.

"Bucky, sweetheart," Tony said, his gaze determined, "I would be honored to be your fake fiancé at your sister's wedding."

Perhaps it was the serious tone Tony adopted or the general ludicrousness of the situation, but Bucky burst out laughing. There was a slightly manic hint to it that turned a couple of heads, sure, but Bucky ignored the stares.

"There you are," Tony said with a pleased grin, squeezing Bucky's hand. "I like it better when you smile."

Bucky shook his head, still feeling the laughter bubble in his throat. He looked up at Tony, trying not to be distracted by the absent little circles Tony's thumb were rubbing against the back of his hand.

"You're unbelievable," Bucky said.

"Why thank you."

When Tony pulled his hand back, Bucky tried his best not to miss its warmth.

"And you're takin' this surprisingly well." Not that Bucky was complaining — he just hadn't expected Tony to be so accepting. "Have you been asked to be someone's fake date before?"

Tony grinned. "Nope. This is definitely a first for me. I'm just very good at adapting."

"I'd say." Bucky took a couple of deep breaths, feeling his shoulders lower. He'd been so tense and nervous about this whole thing that he almost wanted to slump from relief. "You sure you're up for it? It's a week-long thing. With family get-togethers and socializin' and a wedding reception and shit like that."

"Yes, Buckling," Tony replied patiently, "I'm sure. I'm flattered, actually. This means I must have done something right."

That was certainly true. There weren't many people Bucky trusted enough to ask, and few of those knew him as well as Tony did. There were some details they still hadn't covered, sure — Bucky didn't know Tony's surname, now that he thought about it — but the foundation was there. Tony was aware of the PTSD and Bucky's triggers, and hopefully remembered enough about Bucky's family and friends not to walk in blind. Admittedly, Bucky knew less about Tony than the other way around, but still enough to call them friends.

Still enough to know that when it came down to it, there was no one else Bucky could or wanted to ask.

Bucky tried to swallow the lump of gratefulness building in his throat, with only marginal success. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure, Bucky."

"You might change your mind when faced with my friends and family," Bucky warned, but he couldn't help the soft smile spreading on his lips. Tony had heard enough stories to know a lot about them, sure, but meeting someone in person was quite different, especially people like Natasha or Steve. "They're a handful."

While Tony was exceedingly charming, Steve wouldn't be fooled by a pretty face, and neither would Becca or Nat.

Tony, being who he was, _winked_ , of all things. "Good. I like a challenge."

Bucky snorted on a laugh. "I think I regret this already."

"Are you breaking up with me, Buckling?" Tony teased, his eyes sparkling. "We didn't even make it to the wedding."

There was only one way Bucky could respond to that.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again, doll." He reached out and carefully laced their fingers together, giving a gentle squeeze. "You're the only one for me."

For the first time since they had gotten to know each other, Tony looked a little speechless. As much as the two of them flirted with each other, they rarely touched. Bucky wasn't entirely sure why. Perhaps it was the literal barrier of the bar between them or maybe Tony thought Bucky didn't like physical contact considering how rarely he initiated it.

While taking Tony's hand didn't seem all that adventurous — Tony had touched him first, after all, just a couple of minutes ago — Bucky had time to start wondering if he had crossed a line. Or maybe it wasn't the touching that had made Tony fall silent. Perhaps Bucky had said those words with a little too much conviction, unintentionally revealing that they weren't quite as fake as he pretended that they were.

An anxious knot started growing in Bucky chest and he was just about to pull back and apologize when Tony smiled, warm and fond, like always.

"And that's why I'm the luckiest guy in New York," Tony said, voice soft.

Bucky felt his heart squeeze, pleased when Tony seemed perfectly content to let their entwined hands continue to rest on top of the bar. They hadn't even started yet and Bucky could already tell that he was going to be toeing a _very_ dangerous line. Pretending to be engaged to Tony without making it obvious that Bucky was, in fact, genuinely in love with the man was going to be tricky, but he was too relieved to really care in that moment.

Bucky exhaled, squeezing Tony's fingers. "Thank you. Again."

Tony smiled. "Anytime, Buckling."

There were a lot of technical details to take care of involving the wedding — not to mention that he and Tony had to agree on various details to make their story believable — but that could wait. They probably shouldn't discuss those things in the middle of the bar anyway. In some weird way, Bucky was actually beginning to look forward to the whole thing.

For one whole week, he'd get to pretend that Tony was his.

That probably made him all kinds of creepy, but Bucky couldn't help it. He had been in love with the man for so long and he was embarrassingly eager to see what it would be like to be Tony's fiancé, even if it was all pretend. Bucky would take whatever he could get.

In fact, a week was more than Bucky could ever have hoped for, and he would make sure to treasure it. For one whole week, Bucky would get to be Tony's fiancé.

Bucky couldn't believe his luck.

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [Tumblr](http://amethystinawrites.tumblr.com/) and, again, keep in mind that I consider this as complete and currently have no intentions to write anything more on this story. Please don't ask for more chapters. Thank you <3


End file.
